[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 6, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1699-S1702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Climate Change

  Mr. President, I rise to speak this afternoon on the need for 
Congress to take some bold action in addressing climate change.
  Earlier today, a number of our Republican friends were here on the 
Senate floor to chastise the Green New Deal, which is a resolution that 
was introduced by my good friend, the junior Senator from 
Massachusetts. I came down and listened for a bit. For a moment there, 
the conversation got a little bit heated, as our Presiding Officer may 
recall and, I am certain, as our staff recalls. I listened as several 
of our Republican friends denounced the resolution and claimed it would 
bankrupt the country and, in almost the same breath, claimed that they 
supported climate action without having provided a whole lot of 
tangible details about what actions they do support.
  On several occasions, I have heard our friends on the other side of 
the aisle suggest that the Green New Deal is somehow preventing the 
Senate from doing work to produce results on climate action. If you had 
watched my Democratic colleagues and me during that debate, you would 
have noticed a little bit of frustration because we have long been 
eager to work with our

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Republican colleagues on climate solutions, and we would gladly welcome 
the reality of how we could work in a bipartisan way on meaningful 
climate actions.
  As the adage goes, actions speak louder than words, and for more than 
two decades, the Democrats have tried to put forth different climate 
solutions. Some of them have employed market forces, which is usually 
my favorite approach. Some have employed investing in technology. I 
like that one a lot too. Some have also set more strict standards, and 
sometimes that is part of the solution. Yet, when it comes to 
generating support for these policies, we don't seem to get much 
support from our friends on the other side of the aisle. At least we 
didn't today. I know this because I have sponsored quite a bit of 
legislation. I have sponsored pieces of legislation that have enacted 
many of these policies that I am talking about.
  Despite these repeated setbacks, I remain ready; I remain willing; 
and I remain eager to work with our Republican colleagues to find 
approaches that work for them and that work for our planet. I am going 
to keep trying. I am one of those people who doesn't give up, and I am 
not going to give up in this instance either.
  To say that a nonbinding resolution of bold ideas and ambitious goals 
is somehow keeping Congress from taking real action on climate change, 
with all due respect, is just not true. What is true is that my 
Democratic colleagues and I and, quite frankly, I think, the American 
people just don't see the urgency and the passion from our Republican 
friends to act on climate change. What is also true is that our country 
can no longer afford political leaders to give lip service to the 
growing climate crisis. We need real action, and we need it now.
  I have a poster here that talks about extreme weather. I live in a 
little State, and we have seen wildfires not in my State but on the 
other side of our country, where one of our sons lives. We have seen 
wildfires in California, Oregon, Washington, and Montana that have been 
as big as Delaware--maybe that have been bigger than Delaware--just in 
the last year. We are told that the path that we are on with respect to 
global warming and climate change could, by 2050, give us a wildfire 
season that would burn up six times more forest area each year in parts 
of the United States--six times more--if we stay on the path that we 
are on today.
  I have another chart here on sea level rise. Since 1993, sea levels 
have risen by 3 inches, which doesn't sound like much. By 2100, if we 
do nothing, we could see the sea level rise by 6 feet or more. If I had 
the time, I would explain the science behind that large, enormous 
increase. This will cause economic devastation along our coasts if we 
don't act. An estimated $3.6 trillion in cumulative damage to U.S. 
coastal properties and infrastructure could result from rising seas and 
extreme weather. I live in a State that is the lowest lying State in 
America. The State is sinking while the seas around us are rising, and 
that isn't a good combination. For us, this is up close and personal.
  We also raise a lot of corn and soybeans, I am told, in Sussex 
County, DE, in southern Delaware. We may raise more soybeans than just 
about any county this side of the Mississippi River. According to the 
``National Climate Assessment,'' with more frequent and intense rains 
that are combined with rising temperatures, farmers will be likely to 
experience a reduction in corn and soybean yields by up to 25 percent.
  I mention this because I talk to a lot of farmers in our State during 
the course of a week or a month, and I can't tell you how many times I 
have heard this year about the farmers who planted their crops last 
spring, a year ago, and it rained. Then they had to replant. It rained 
some more, and they tried to replant again, but it rained some more, 
and they were done. From that point on, they had no crops or they had 
greatly diminished crops. They used crop insurance, which, fortunately, 
was available. I think that these facts make clear that every sector in 
our economy is or will be disrupted by climate change if we don't act 
now.
  We have had a GDP loss. This is the loss in the GDP from the great 
recession of about a decade ago, and this is the forecast for the GDP 
loss by 2100 if we stay on the course that we are on. Basically, it 
will be twice as big a hit to the GDP because of climate change than 
what we suffered in the great recession.
  Earlier today, there was a common news release that we put out, and I 
am going to quote it. It reads: ``Neither global efforts to mitigate 
the causes of climate change nor regional efforts to adapt to the 
impacts currently approach the scales needed to avoid substantial 
damages to the U.S. economy, environment, and human health and well-
being over the coming decades.''
  Think about that. I am going to read that again: ``Neither global 
efforts to mitigate the causes of climate change nor regional efforts 
to adapt to the impacts currently approach the scales needed to avoid 
substantial damages to the U.S. economy, environment, and human health 
and well-being over the coming decades.''
  That is not some statement from Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, or any 
number of environmental organizations. That is not the statement of any 
of my colleagues on this side of the aisle in the House or in the 
Senate. That is right out of the Government Accountability Office's 
high-risk list that was released earlier today. The GAO released its 
high-risk ways of losing money and raising money in our country. Again, 
one of the high-risk areas the GAO identified in this year's report was 
our Federal Government's fiscal exposure to climate change risks. So 
there you have it from the nonpartisan GAO, which is probably going to 
be a surprise to a lot of people.
  We have two options here. We can either confront this challenge head-
on and reduce carbon emissions, enhance resiliency, and support clean 
energy jobs or we can pretend the science is not real and do nothing, 
which will threaten the future of our children and our grandchildren. 
Sadly, with our current President in the White House, despite what you 
may have heard today again and again, our Republican friends--not all 
of them but too many of them--have taken the latter option. They have 
decided repeatedly to retreat from this threat and ignore the clear 
signs of climate change.
  Instead of pursuing ideas to address climate change and protect 
Americans from its effects, we have seen the current administration 
promote policies that undermine the climate science and increase our 
dependency on dirty energy. These actions threaten U.S. competitiveness 
in the global clean energy economy, and they threaten the health of 
every single American. Unfortunately, most of our Republican friends 
have been applauding this President with every one of these actions.
  The Democrats know that we cannot shrink away from this problem. We 
want to build on the work we started with President Obama and Vice 
President Biden when their administration was leading our country and 
when we set actions in motion to put our country on a path of net zero 
emissions for carbon.
  During the Obama administration, starting with the Recovery Act right 
at the end of the great recession, the Federal Government provided 
economic incentives and smart regulations to support market investments 
in clean energy. Thanks to this work, consumers are paying less for 
energy, and more than 3 million people went to work today in the clean 
energy sector of our country. One of them, until a couple of years ago, 
was our older son, Christopher, who worked for a big company called 
Honeywell. The job for him and the folks with whom he worked was to 
work on large building energy conservation projects all over the 
Northeast. He did that for a number of years.
  There are millions of jobs that are provided in that sector--millions 
of good-paying jobs. As folks are displaced, whether they happen to be 
coal miners or other folks who are displaced because of a loss of 
employment opportunities in that industry, we have a moral obligation 
to make sure that those men and women are retrained and retooled so 
they can do some of these jobs in which there happen to be technicians 
who work in the solar panel industry--in the solar energy industry--or 
in offshore wind or in energy conservation buildings. There is a

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huge amount of waste in buildings, and a lot of tradesmen and -women 
can be employed in that sector.
  Just today, though, I met with a number of folks in the wind 
industry, and they talked about the exciting growth in that industry, 
including in offshore wind. I learned that today the wind and solar 
industries are, respectively, the first and second fastest growing 
sectors in this country. I will say that again. I learned that today 
the wind and solar industry are, respectively, the first and second 
fastest growing sectors in this country. I was surprised to hear that.
  Here is another fact. At the end of 2008, before President Obama took 
office, wind and other renewables, other than hydropower, made up about 
3 percent of our Nation's electric-generating capacity. Think about 
that. At the end of 2008, Barack Obama was about to become President. 
At that time, wind and other renewables, other than hydro, made up 
about 3 percent of our Nation's electric-generating capacity. Wind 
power alone was at 1 percent. When President Obama and Joe Biden left 
office, renewables other than hydropower were hitting 10-percent 
capacity, with wind power making up about 7 percent. I learned today 
that wind power is expected to make up almost 10 percent of our 
Nation's electricity in 2 years, not in two decades but in 2 years. We 
have come a long way in a hurry, and I think that is only going to 
accelerate.
  These substantial increases in clean energy economic opportunities 
aren't the result of markets just being markets; they were because we 
put smart policy in place and because we in this body invested in smart 
policy. We had leadership that believed that climate change was a 
threat, and we had an opportunity to do something good for our planet 
and, at the same time, create opportunity--job opportunities, 
employment opportunities--across the country, which is what happened.
  These advances in clean energy are great, but much more must be done 
to address the growing climate crisis that we face. That is why the 
Democrats continue to support policies that will reduce our Nation's 
carbon footprint, will help to create a fair economy, and will support 
those who are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
  My hope is that our Republican friends will translate their words 
into actions by joining us in working on real climate solutions. Once 
again, I invite all of our Republican colleagues to join our 
resolution, which simply states that climate change is real, that we as 
humans have a fair amount to do with it, and that Congress needs to 
act. There are three things--that climate change is real; that we as 
humans have quite a bit to do with that; and that Congress needs to do 
something to respond to this threat. From there, let's have a 
meaningful, fact-based debate as to what actions we must take.
  I have a piece of paper that reads for me to end with this, but I am 
not going to end with this. I am going to say this now and lead into 
something else. Calls to take climate action should not divide us. This 
is an issue that should unite us--not just our body, the Senate, not 
just the Congress, not just the Federal Government, but our country and 
our world.

  In Isaiah, in the Old Testament, it says: ``Come now and let us 
reason together.'' I used to think that was LBJ, and I found out it was 
Isaiah, and LBJ was quoting Isaiah. ``Come now and let us reason 
together.''
  We have a robust and an innovative economy. That is a blessing. We 
should meet the climate challenges head-on. We should work together to 
make sure that policies we put in place harness the talents of the 
American people, provide good jobs and wages, and create economic 
opportunities, especially in communities that need them. It is not a 
time for political theater. Let's come together and debate solutions. 
Our children and their children are depending on us to chart a 
responsible path.
  I want to say something to our Presiding Officer.
  When I was new here, I remember sitting up there and watching a 
couple of guys who had been here for a while: a guy named Ted Kennedy--
I think his chair and his desk were right back there--a very liberal 
Democrat, maybe the most liberal Democrat we had in the Senate at the 
time--and a fellow on the Republican side in like the second row, about 
halfway over, Mike Enzi. They would come to the floor sometimes when I 
was presiding as a new Senator, and I couldn't believe that day after 
day, week after week, month after month, they would come to the floor 
and get all kinds of stuff done. You had Ted Kennedy, who was maybe the 
most liberal Democrat, and you had Mike Enzi, who was arguably one of 
the most conservative Republicans we had, and as the leaders of the 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, they got a ton of 
stuff done.
  I once asked Mike Enzi--one day, I was presiding while he was 
speaking, and he talked about the 80/20 rule. When he talked about the 
80/20 rule, I didn't know what he was talking about. After he finished 
talking, I asked him to come up to where you are sitting, Mr. 
President.
  I was presiding, and I said: Mike Enzi, what is the 80/20 rule?
  He said: That is the secret. That is why Ted Kennedy and I get so 
much done.
  I said: What is it?
  He said: Ted and I agree on 80 percent of this stuff, and we disagree 
on 20 percent of this stuff. We focus on the 80 percent where we agree 
and set aside the other 20 percent to come back to at a later date.
  I said: Ah, the 80/20 rule.
  I will close with this. I remember that when I was new here, like the 
Presiding Officer, some of the people in the Senate were people whom I 
had served with in the House. I knew them. I had served with some of 
the people when I was Governor, and I knew them. But there were a bunch 
of people here whom I didn't know. So I got here, I was new, and I 
would just ask the people I didn't know if I could maybe come to their 
office and have a cup of coffee with them and just talk for a while. 
People were very nice to do that.
  One of the people I did this with was Ted Kennedy. I just really 
didn't know him. I remember meeting with him and asking him if maybe I 
could come by his office and have a cup of coffee sometime.
  He said: Fine. We will do better than that. Come to my hideaway. We 
will have lunch together.
  I was blown away. Here is this guy who is a legend, and he is willing 
to invite me to his hideaway to have lunch. I went, and I will never 
forget it. His hideaway was about three times the size of mine, and it 
was like a Kennedy museum. It was just incredible.
  I said: Why is it that so many Republicans want you, Ted Kennedy, a 
very liberal Democrat, to be their cosponsor and to be their dance 
partner on legislation that needs a Democrat? Why do so many people 
want to work with you?
  I will never forget what he said. He said: I think this is the 
reason, Tom. I am always willing to compromise on policy; never willing 
to compromise on principle.
  That is what he said.
  I would say the lesson for us today is this: We have a problem on 
this planet. I think most of us realize this is a real problem. Our 
planet is getting hotter, warmer. We are seeing vestiges of that every 
day with this crazy weather we live with.
  Dan Sullivan was just on the floor talking about the Iditarod. It was 
only about 2 years ago that they had to truck snow in to be able to 
actually have the Iditarod dog race in Alaska.
  There is crazy stuff going on with our weather. I think some of the 
policy and the principle here is that--our planet is getting warmer, we 
have something to do with that as human beings, and I think we have an 
obligation here in the Senate to do something positive about it. The 
great news is that we could actually create a lot of jobs by doing 
that, by responding to this challenge.
  My hope is that here in the tumult of today's debate and maybe the 
debate going forward, that we will all keep in mind Mike Enzi's words 
on the 80/20 rule and that we will keep in mind the words of Ted 
Kennedy: always willing to compromise on policy; never willing to 
compromise on principle. Maybe, guided by their wisdom, we can find a 
middle ground and do something good for not just this body, not just 
the Congress, not just our country, but good for our planet and our 
kids.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

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  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MERKLEY. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.